Innholdsfortegnelse for June 14, 2021 i India Today

India is currently caught in a deadly pincer. On one side is the burgeoning health crisis and on the other is the precipitous decline of the Indian economy. Both are humanitarian crises. One is a matter of life and death, and the other of livelihood. They are closely connected. There is nothing worse for an economy than uncertainty. The trajectory of the virus is really an unknown, and the economy remains in the shadow of uncertainty of when it will be shut down partially or totally. Unfortunately, the Indian economy had been in a secular decline since the third quarter of the 2016-17 financial year—when it began its slide from 8.6 per cent to 4 per cent in the final quarter of the financial year 2019-20. That was about the…

Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje does not lack detractors in her own party, some big names in the central leadership among them. But despite attempts to sideline her, she keeps bouncing back. Her loyalists have now set up a free food distribution network for Covid-affected people in 15 cities of the state. The ‘Vasundhara Jan Rasoi’ is now making its way to every municipality. Raje is also keeping on the right side of the BJP top leadership including tweeting her felicitations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on completing seven years in government. The Rani is clearly ensuring she is in the running for the 2023 assembly poll.…

1,730 million Total doses needed for 18 years and above 216 million doses administered 1,514 million doses required to vaccinate entire population above 18 136 DAYS Since vaccination began (on Jan. 16) 1.6 MN/ DAY Current rate of vaccination 214 DAYS Required to achieve the target 7.08 MN/ DAY Required rate of vaccination Data as on Jun. 1, 2021; Source: MoH&FW Graphic by Data Intelligence Unit, India Today…

Q HOW BADLY IS THE ECONOMY HIT? AND WHAT IS THE MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK, ESPECIALLY IF UNLOCK 2.0 IS GRADUAL? › RAJNISH KUMAR: The second wave of Covid has slowed down the pace of economic recovery that had picked up. However, since the second lockdown was not as rigid as the first, the economy has not suffered as it did the last time. Also, the number of cases has started coming down, indicating that the peak has been achieved. Under this outcome, the macro-economic costs of this wave can be limited to Q1 2021-22 with possible spillover into July. This is the most optimistic scenario that can be envisaged at this juncture—it provides a limited window to establish strict pandemic protocols and figure out logistics vis-à-vis vaccine production, medical supplies and…

DISTRICTS REPORTING HIGH CASES Between May 24 and May 30, 2021, 295 districts reported more than 100 daily cases MAHARASHTRA 400 Covid Care Centres (CCCs) with at least 30 beds, two oxygen cylinders and an ambulance each Provision for one MBBS doctor, one BDS/ BAMS (dentists and ayurvedic practitioners) and two nurses in each CCC The state has relied on existing infrastructure and not followed the May 16 directive of the Union government RAJASTHAN 70 CCCs, with 30 beds, two oxygen cylinders and an ambulance, set up after May 16; 257 Covid consultation centres have also been set up; 355 CHCs are being converted into CCCs Targeting 20,000 oxygen beds in rural areas in next two months; ordered 30,000 oxygen concentrators 7,353 new community health officers will be deputed in…

Around two decades ago, Bengaluru saw the launch of a small two-door electric vehicle (EV), Reva. In 2010, Mahindra acquired a controlling stake in the company and, three years on, reintroduced the car as the ‘e2o’. The e20 remained a two-door product and, priced rather high, didn’t quite make a bang. In the past few years, several electric two- and three-wheelers have been launched in India. They mostly had flimsy bodies and the ride and handling too were not up to the mark. The electric motors were mainly powered by heavy lead-acid batteries that required long hours of charging. But things have steadily improved. We not only have some promising electric scooters, such as the TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak and Ather 450X, but even major car brands, such as Hyundai,…

PORSCHE TAYCAN The Taycan is available in several variants, with single motor (rear axle) and dual motor layouts, depending on the variant. With a maximum charging capacity of 225 kW or 270 kW, it can go from 0 to 80 per cent charge in 22.5 minutes with a fast-charging station. Set-up: Single motor/ dual motor, RWD/ AWD Battery: 79.2-93.4 kWh Range (WLTP): 335-484 km Price (estimated): Rs 2 crore Launch (expected): H2, 2021 TESLA MODEL 3 Tesla has finally taken concrete steps to commence operations in India. With initial offerings likely to be imported, the entry-level Model 3 will likely retail at Rs 55-60 lakh. The most basic Tesla Model 3, with a rear-wheel drive set-up, has a claimed range of 447 km. The Long Range and Performance variants (with…

By his own admission, British writer Sunjeev Sahota’s novels “tend to come down to a few brown people living in north England or India”. But within this framework, Sahota wove richly detailed lives and unique voices in his first two novels: Ours are the Streets (2011) and The Year of the Runaways (2015), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. China Room, his third, also weaves together past and present, moving between the late ’20s and ’90s. Geography and ancestry bind the stories of a young British man spending his summer in the family village in Punjab, and his great-grandmother, one of three women married to three brothers in a country that is, as a character says, “waiting for us to raise her on to our shoulders and up…

Towards the late 19th century, the family of an Indian vicar in rural England became the target of malicious anonymous letters, pranks and other assorted mischief. In 1903, things took a more sinister turn, when village cattle started to turn up mutilated or dead—the work of a night-time assailant in Great Wyrley, near Birmingham. George Edalji, a lawyer and the eldest son of Shapoorji, a Parsi convert to Anglicanism, and a white British woman, quickly came to be accused of the crimes. Despite dubious and contradictory evidence, the short-sighted “oriental” was decried as a blood-thirsty maniac with mysterious proclivities. Tried and convicted in an inflamed atmosphere of racism and sentenced to a seven-year prison term, Edalji lost his legal licence and any hope of a reprieve—there was not yet a…

The Many Lives Of Agyeya by Akshaya Mukul CONTEXT After his award-winning Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India, Akshaya Mukul returns with a biography of the poet Sachidanand Hiranand Vatsyayan Agyeya. By analysing his unconventional views and unorthodox life, Mukul tells us the story of a literary giant, yes, but also one of independent India. A Rani and a Begum by Rudrangshu Mukherjee PENGUIN Historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee details the unusual circumstances that led to Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi joining the rebellion of 1857. Even though the two women never met, there were several ways in which their lives intersected. This book explores those parallels. Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh by Shrayana Bhattacharya HARPERCOLLINS This book does two things—it celebrates Shah Rukh Khan’s 30-year…

For sharp analysis on topical issues by the editors of INDIA TODAY, log on to www.indiatoday.in/india-today-magazine-insight Why the cancellation of class 12 CBSE exams is not good news for all by Aditi Pai The initial euphoria has given way to uncertainty. Educationists see it as an opportunity to overhaul the education system https://bit.ly/3ppZGfv Kerala’s vote of confidence for Lakshadweep by Jeemon Jacob The Kerala government backs the citizens of India’s smallest Union territory, demanding the recall of its administrator https://bit.ly/3fHyzcs Cyclone Tauktae: ‘Mariners are trained to avoid cyclones, our mission took us right into it’ by Sandeep Unnithan Captain Sachin Sequeira, commanding officer of INS Kochi, recounts the mission to rescue people from Barge P-305 off the Mumbai coast on May 17 https://bit.ly/3vKkUXF Why Siddharth Pithani’s arrest has revived interest…

Q How does it feel being the finance minister when all the major economic indices, including the GDP, are down? Don’t you feel depressed looking at the numbers? “We have made big provisions for infrastructure, which has had a bearing on jobs, and for public expenditure in health, which will make a big impact on health indices” A. I take it as a big challenge that calls for a lot of focus and attention to make sure that we are able to, every now and then, come up with steps that will help people. I don’t want to say numbers do not worry me, but I also have to think of the sufferings of people on the ground and the tragedy that has struck so many families. So, that is…

ELECTRIC FIRST Cars with rechargeable batteries were widely used for urban transport from the late-1800s till the 1920s. Here, a 1921 Slaby-Beringer SPACE RACER While cheap oil defeated electrics for terrestrial transport, the battery-powered Lunar Rover arrived on the moon on Apollo 15 in 1971—a giant leap for automobiles SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL The petrol crisis of the 1970s led to a mini-revival in small electric runabouts like the Citicar—4,444 were produced by 1979 CLEAN MACHINE Environmental legislation encouraging zero-emission vehicles led General Motors to introduce the pioneering EV1 in 1996 BATTERIES INCLUDED Bangalore-based start-up REVA launched their iconic electric mini in 2001. Later acquired and rebranded by Mahindra GLOBAL DOMINATION Founded in 2003, Tesla produced their first roadster in 2009, the iconic Model S (pic) in 2012. It is now…

2008 Sushil Kumar wins a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 2010 First, and still the only, Indian to win a World Championship gold 2012 A silver at the 2012 London Olympics; the only Indian to win a medal in an individual sport in consecutive Games 2016 Both the Wrestling Federation of India and the Delhi High Court deny Kumar’s request for a selection trial against Narsingh Yadav, who had won India the quota spot for the 2016 Rio Games December 2017 Post Kumar’s victory over Parveen Rana in the Commonwealth Games trial, their supporters clash. Rana alleges that Kumar threatened him January 2020 Recovering from a shoulder injury, Kumar appeals to WFI to postpone the national trials for the 2020 Tokyo Games. His request is denied May 4, 2021…

BEAUTIFUL WORLD, WHERE ARE YOU by Sally Rooney FABER & FABER ₹577 (Kindle); 368 pages Hailed by critics as “the first great millennial novelist”, Sally Rooney is set to build on the success of Normal People with a new novel in September. Her characters, we hear, will again be young and Irish. They will again worry about sex and friendships and we, perhaps, will again feel just as smitten. HARLEM SHUFFLE by Colson Whitehead FLEET ₹812 (Kindle); 336 pages Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize not once but twice. In September, he returns with a cracker of a heist novel set in 1959 Harlem. An otherwise upstanding salesman, Ray Carney is “only slightly bent when it comes to being crooked”. All this changes when his cousin robs the Hotel…

Maharashtra tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray is a Mumbai heritage buff. In 2018, he had got the historic Flora Fountain repaired. This year, on May 30, he inaugurated the restored Fitzgerald fountain, a 153-year-old cast iron structure. But social media users have pointed out that the structure was named after a colonial figure, Seymour Fitzgerald, the first governor of then Bombay district. In the interests of political correctness, will the restored fountain get a new name in what is now Mumbai? —Sandeep Unnithan with Rahul Noronha, Kiran D. Tare and Rohit Parihar…

The misguided and undemocratic impulse of the controversial Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021 (LDAR 21) has shaken the conscience of people in Kerala, all of India and, of course, the islands themselves. The LDAR 21 faithfully follows the script that has been insidiously spread throughout India over the past seven years. There is to be a beef ban in a place where there are no cows; a preventive detention law where there is no crime; road widening where the maximum length of a road is 11 km. My own perspective on these proposed ‘reforms’ emerges from my experience as a former Planning Commission (PC) member in charge of Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for 10 years. That included working with the Island Development Authority (IDA) chaired by…

181 districts, out of the 254 districts with over 10 per cent positivity rate (May 24-30), have a high rural population ONLY 136 of these 254 districts have done at least 50 per cent RT-PCR tests 19% TEST POSITIVITY RATE 1.6% CASE FATALITY RATE In four Northeastern states—Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim—which have an average 65 per cent rural population 5 HIGHLY INFECTED BIG STATES Though among the worst hit, the southern states are better equipped with rural beds 5 BIG STATES WITH HIGHEST DEATH RATE Rural Punjab has the most worrying death rate even though its positivity rate is not the worst Positivity rate and death rate are a seven-day average between May 24 and May 30; Sources: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Rural Health Statistics, 2019-20; How…

Nov. 7 & 8, 2013 Tarun Tejpal, editor-in-chief of Tehelka allegedly sexually assaults a young colleague in a hotel elevator in Goa Nov. 19 Tejpal writes an informal apology letter to the victim Nov. 20 Formal apology letter from Tejpal to victim and Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor, Tehelka Nov. 23 Goa police takes suo motu cognisance of media reports, files FIR booking Tejpal for rape under IPC sections 376, 376(2)(k) and 354. Tejpal’s apology is used as evidence in the case Nov. 30 Goa police arrest Tejpal. He is lodged in Sada sub-jail Feb. 17, 2014 Goa police files a 2,846-page chargesheet, charging Tejpal with offences under a host of IPC sections which now also include 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault with intent to disrobe) Jun. 2 Bombay HC to…

MERCEDES BENZ EQC For well-heeled buyers looking to flaunt their green credentials. The EQC’s 80 kWh lithium ion battery runs two motors, one on each axle, with a combined power output of 408 bhp and peak torque of 760 Nm. Both motors operate simultaneously, giving the EQC all-wheel drive capability. Though the vehicle has a WLTP rated range upward of 400 km, that figure is realistically closer to 350 km on a single charge. The company says a standard wall outlet will take about 20 hours to charge the battery from 10 per cent to full; the company-provided wall box reduces that to 10 hours, while a 50kwh DC fast charger brings it down to a mere 90 minutes. Setup Dual motor, all-wheel drive Battery 80 kWh Range (WLTP) 370-414…

HERO LECTRO C8 The Lectro is a premium lifestyle offering and is built on an alloy frame which makes it light. The C8 comes with a host of features including a 7-speed Shimano gear system, front suspension with 80 mm travel and lock out function and dual mechanical disc brakes. The C8 can be operated in Pedelec and full electric modes and comes with just one battery which is built into the frame. Hence, to recharge the battery one has to be close to a household power socket. The battery takes three hours to charge and Lectro claim a range of 30 km in Pedelec and 25 km in full electric mode. Power comes from a 250 W hub motor which offers enough power to allow the bike to get…

Salman Rushdie was 72 when he contracted Covid in March 2020. His age and asthma gave his family cause to worry. The virus, thankfully, never reached his lungs. Having recovered 17 days later, he, like so many others, missed his children. After Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against The Satanic Verses in 1989, calling for Rushdie’s death, the author was forced to move from one safe house to another. When New York went into lockdown, he was told, “This must be familiar to you.” Rushdie’s comeback, one he thought but never articulated, is as funny as it is unnerving: “A stone thrown at a man’s head in a village square is not the same as a lethal avalanche of boulders descending upon that village and destroying it.” There are,…

Amit Chaudhuri is an acclaimed writer and a gentleman singer, a regrettably quaint way of describing a serious singer who hasn’t made it his profession. Perhaps it’s a blessed perch that affords a sweeping yet personal view of a complex subject. Hindustani classical music is itself a living traditional art whose great antiquity is both treasured and subject to modern influences. Perhaps the best way to confront one duality is with another, and in Finding the Raga, there are many—an account of a musical journey that is sensory and intellectual, everyday and epiphanic, a long essay made up of smaller ones. The book’s paperback (right image) and hardback (left) covers usefully bring out another duality. The hardback, with the been, and staff notation on faux-antique parchment, might suggest a droning…

Q. Your book, The Spirit of Enquiry: Notes on Dissent, is a compilation of your best writings. What went into the process of curation and revisiting your past writings? The collection intends to engage with ideas. Pieces were chosen such that, even if they were a response to an occurrence, they dwell on the larger issues emanating from that event. I do not believe in holding on to anything I have said/ written just for the sake of public form. Hence, I have responded critically to an article I wrote some years ago. I have also added more complexity to my discussions through the newer pieces included in this collection. Q. You are also writing a book on the national anthem, looking at the idea of symbols and what they…